Walker leads Hornets to 120-88 rout over Magic

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Kemba Walker scored 26 points and Nicolas Batum added 15 to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 120-88 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

Miles Bridges had 15 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 12 as the Hornets beat the Magic for the 12th straight time. Charlotte limited the Orlando to just 33.3 percent shooting and 54 points in the first three periods.

Terrence Ross came off the bench and led the Magic with 14 points. Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier had 12 points apiece for Orlando, which trailed by 20 at halftime and never got closer than 15 points in the second half.

Walker helped Charlotte overcome a dreadful first half of offense by making a pair of 3-pointers and assisting Marvin Williams on two more 3-pointers at the start of the third period, helping the Hornets extend their lead to as many as 31 points in the third quarter.

The subs for both sides took over at that point, but nothing changed.

The first half was forgettable for both teams. Each struggled to make any shot and the poor sniping was magnified by 18 turnovers between the teams.

Orlando was slightly worse in both areas with 28.6 percent shooting and 12 turnovers as Charlotte built a 51-31 lead at the half. Walker, who was scoreless in the first quarter, had 14 points in the second, and led an 18-5 run in the final six minutes of the half.

TIP-INS

HORNETS: Charlotte has won 14 of its last 15 games against the Magic. . The Hornets shot just 30.4 percent and committed four turnovers in the first period - and still led 22-10.

MAGIC: C Nikola Vucevic, who didn't have a block in the season opener, had four against Charlotte. . SG Evan Fournier was shot 0 for 7 in the first half. ... Orlando missed its first 10 3-point attempts and was 2 for 17 (11.8 percent) for the half.

UP NEXT

Hornets: At Miami on Saturday night.

Magic: First road game of the season at Philadelphia on Saturday night.